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Woodpeckers

Tips for coexisting with woodpeckers.

Natural History

Northern Flicker

There are six species of
woodpeckers found in the Portland-Vancouver metro region: Downy
Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker,
Northern Flicker, and Red-breasted Sapsucker. Of these, the Northern
Flicker is by far the most common. Go to the bottom of the page for species photos.

With their hard, pointed beaks,
incredibly long tongues and thick, shock-absorbing skulls, woodpeckers
are well adapted for excavating cavities for nesting and roosting,
territorial drumming, and hunting for insects and sap. Woodpeckers are
made for tree living. Their feet are specially adapted with two toes
pointing forward and two toes pointing to the rear with sharp pointed
claws great for scaling up and down vertical surfaces. Woodpeckers also
have a short, stiff tail that props them up when climbing.

Both
woodpecker parents care for the young, which are born featherless and
helpless. The young typically fledge (leave the nest) between 21 and 30
days after hatching. They will remain in the vicinity of the nest for a
period of a couple of weeks after fledging, during which time they will
learn valuable life skills from their parents.

Woodpeckers play
an important role in the health of our forests. Abandoned cavities are
used by a variety of other birds and the process of drilling and
chipping for food and shelter also contributes to the necessary
decomposition of dead trees. One of the best ways you can help
woodpeckers is by leaving dead trees (snags) standing on your property.

Situations and Solutions

Territorial Drumming:

During
breeding season (April-June) male woodpeckers will drum on loud
surfaces to establish their territory and attract a mate. Favorite
sites for this kind of "rat-a-tat-tat" drumming are gutters, downspouts
and flashing, but woodpeckers will also use siding as well.

Solution:
This kind of activity can best be stopped by making the drumming site
unsuitable for noisemaking. This can be done by covering it with a
noise-deadening material such as burlap, canvas, foam rubber, or heavy
plastic. Once the woodpecker finds that he can no longer produce his
noise, he will usually go elsewhere.

Drilling for Insects:

Woodpeckers
drill in wood to hunt for insects and to extract sap. This type of
drilling usually appears as a series of relatively small holes along an
expanse of wood siding.

Solution: If you are seeing a
woodpecker drilling for insects on your wood siding, you might want to
have your home checked for insect damage. If a woodpecker has found a
source of insects it will be difficult to eliminate the drilling and
the solution would be to treat the insect problem. Other remedies for
this are variations on the scarecrow principle. Hanging windsocks,
mylar tape, colorful streamers, or hawk silhouettes in the vicinity of
the drilling will sometimes frighten woodpeckers away. A more surefire
method is to cover the affected area with woodpecker proof material
such as 1/4-inch hardware cloth, netting or plastic. These are
short-term fixes in hopes that the woodpecker will move on to find a more
suitable place to feed.

Nest Making:

In
a natural setting, woodpeckers nest in tree cavities that they have
carved out. When abandoned, these cavities are used by other
cavity-nesting birds such as Bluebirds, Chickadees, and Nuthatches. In
urban areas, woodpeckers will sometimes substitute houses for trees.
This type of activity can be recognized by the appearance of holes 2
inches in diameter or larger and can occur in the fall or spring.

Solution:
Problems of this nature can oftentimes be avoided by not removing snags
or by hanging woodpecker nest boxes. Flicker nest boxes are easy to
make, or they can be bought at the Audubon Society of Portland's Nature
Store or other local bird shops. Scare tactics as described above can
also be implemented to encourage the woodpecker to find a more suitable
nesting site.

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